Asides

By Marcus Rico, Focus Sports Editor

Vilonia – After dispatching third place Little Rock Christian one night before, the Vilonia Lady Eagles used a strong second half surge to beat rival Greenbrier in a quick turnaround Wednesday night.

Vilonia (23-2, 11-0) shrugged off a slow shooting start to collect a 54-39 home win over the Lady Panthers and further distance themselves from the pack in the 5-A Central race.

Greenbrier raced to an early 7-0 lead before junior post Kim Henry scored on a driving lay-up for Vilonia’s first bucket of the contest.

A pair of three-point baskets by Vilonia sophomore guard Lily Seiver helped closed the gap at 12-10 late in the first quarter before the Lady Eagles eventually imposed their will with a 16-6 run to close out the first half.

“We missed our first five shots but we got good looks,” Vilonia head coach Jeremy Simon said. “They just weren’t falling. We have to be careful not to shoot ourselves out of games.”

Maddie Mannion paced Vilonia with a game-high 12 points. Mya Brady and Brooklyn Burnham added nine points each while Henry finished with eight.

Greenbrier (16-10, 7-5) scored the first six points of the second half but from there balanced scoring attack and a smothering press defense would help the Lady Eagles maintain control of the game.

Strong inside play from the Lady Panthers kept them close early on and Simon praised Greenbrier for contributing to Vilonia’s ice-cold start.

“They forced us to take outside shots and we couldn’t get anything inside.” said Simon. “Offensively they utilized their post and she did a great job inside. They were able to hit some shots early on.”

Ally James led Greenbrier with 13 points.

By Jennifer Golston

Morrilton – There is a new kid on the block in travel basketball and if their fall program was any indication they will be just the jolt that Central Arkansas needed.

D.E.B.S. (stands for Developing Education Beyond Sports) Elite Basketball is the brainchild of Director Mark Rico – a former professional player and now budding Athletic Director who understands that basketball must be a “year-round adventure” for any player who aspires to play at the next level.

The program is still in its infancy stages but Rico and his crew have already begun to set the stage for the players in their program to be successful.

“I moved here a few years ago and as a basketball coach and fan, was pretty disappointed at the amount of serious basketball teams and players in Arkansas. It was very top-heavy. Basically, there were only a handful of programs that were really serious about participating in a continuous basis.” Rico said. “Most of them just played when they could or win softball had a rare break. No knock to softball, but for the kids who are passionate about basketball, it left something to be desired.”

So, after a successful two-year stint with another local AAU team in the area, Rico – who is currently pursuing a master’s in education – decided to forge ahead in making his dream a reality by bringing year-round basketball to the Natural State.

“We had so many people tell us that you don’t know how much we have been waiting for something like this. My child plays softball but her heart is in basketball and they would play it 12 months out of the year if they could.” said Rico, with a grin.

That was music to the ears of the former post player, who toiled in countries such as Turkey, South Korea and Italy before a serious knee injury sidelined him for good in 2009.

From there, Rico knew he wanted to stay around the game and mentor up-and-coming players in his native Texas where he eventually began his own AAU organization – Alamo City Ambassadors after helping out other AAU teams over the next few years.

His new organization would secure seven out of nine tournaments in his first and only full season – including an Elite Eight finish at a National Tournament in Dallas in 2018.

But as they prepared for a second season, Rico and his wife decided to relocate after his father-in-law became ill. Although the decision was a no-brainer, Rico knew that his mission wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t give it a go in his wife’s home state.

“It was pretty apparent that this was what I was born to do even though I don’t always love the stress it brings.” said Rico. “I grew up with a single mother so I basically grew up in the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club atmosphere. I understand how important it is to have someone that has lived what you are living to help guide you through those personable years. I am not perfect but I always try to be that mentor that I had growing up.”

Rico started to put his plan in motion soon after the horn had sounded from the final tournament from his previous organization had ended.

“We literally left the court at Hoop Play Nationals (where they lost in championship game) and headed right over to start practicing for the fall program.” laughed Rico. “We were so excited to get started with our vision on our terms.”

That’s where Dawg House Basketball – a well established training program based in Little Rock – came in.

Rico stumbled upon a few training videos that were posted by the program’s owner Chris Davis – and it struck a chord with him almost immediately.

“I knew right away from the videos that he was a very detailed trainer – which is something that is rare at the youth level – but what really stood out was the fact that he actually pulled over and did an “on the spot” training session with a couple of kids who were playing at a playground during a cold winter afternoon.” Rico said. “I knew then he was my guy. Anyone who would do something so selfless and spontaneous had to have his heart in the right place. He’s a huge, huge part of what we are trying to do and our players, parents and coaches all swear by him.”

Davis himself is also a former professional player but has worked with a host of amateur and well-known NBA and WNBA players.

This past weekend, DEBS Elite held their first “showcase” for their elementary and middle school girls. The exhibition round-robin tournament was a culmination of the training they have embarked on over the last few months and what Rico hopes will give them a head start on getting ready for the upcoming school season.

“The great group of girls who chose to take part in fall workouts will be all the better for it.” said Rico. “We are setting the groundwork for their future. My coaches and I will be attending as many of their school games as we can. Each and every player deserves support from their coaches and director. We will be that presence.”

The organization began its Boys Fall program two weeks ago and hopes to field three boys teams in addition to their seven girls teams that are scheduled to begin play in the Spring of 2022.

The plan according to Rico, is to make sure that all of his Elite players have the chance to play top notch competition with college scouts in attendance.

“I don’t believe in handicapping players who have a gift in playing this game.” Rico said. “They deserve the right to be challenged and given and chance to be seen, no matter how old they are. And I believe that with the level of training that they will get along with the experienced, strong support staff we have, it will be great to see where they are in a year or two. But parents have to trust the process and understand that basketball is a seven day a week job if you want to play at the next level.”

Not only will DEBS Elite teams appear in some of the most prestigious tournaments in the country, Rico wants to make sure that his players develop themselves both on and off the court.

“We will do mandatory community service projects each month as an organization, we will challenge our kids and also hold them accountable in the classroom.” said Rico.

To contact Rico for a tryout or for more information e-mail him at DebsEliteBasketball@gmail.com

2022 D.E.B.S. ELITE COACHING ROSTER:

3rd/4th Grade Girls – Mariah Jeffcoat

5th/6th Grade ELITE Girls – Shawn Morris

5th/6th SELECT Girls – Marvin Hall

7th/8th Grade Girls – Mariah Jeffcoat

7th Grade SELECT Girls – Mark Rico

9th Grade Girls SELECT – TBA

9th Grade Girls NATIONAL – Mark Rico

High School Girls NATIONAL – Marvin Hall, Kaneitra Curtis

3rd/4th Grade Boys – Damian Wright

5th/6th Grade SELECT Boys – Christian Kelley

7th/8th Grade Boys – Cobey Pintado

High School Boys – Cobey Pintado

Conway – Central Arkansas found the cure what ailed them after the first two weekends of football in the span of a quarter of football in their 2021 home opener.

All it took was three consecutive touchdown drives coupled with an early Arkansas-Pine Bluff turnover that sent the Bears to an early lead that they never relinquished in a relatively easy 45-23 rout of the Golden Lions in front of an overflow crowd on Saturday night at Estes Stadium.

Fifth year senior Braylin Smith got on track early as Chris Richmond, Sam Camargo and Tobias Enlow all hauled in short touchdown passes just before the game was halted for thirty minutes just before halftime due to lightning strikes in the area.

The No. 24 ranked Bears settled for a 28-9 halftime lead, thanks in part to Smith, who tied his career high in just thirty minutes of action. In the victory, Smith completed his first 15 passes to break the school record of 14 straight held by his head coach Nathan Brown (2007) and Brian Stallworth (2001).

Smith, who finished 31-of-42 passing for 329 yards, overcame a pair of interceptions on consecutive possessions in the third quarter to lead the Bears on two fourth-quarter touchdowns drives that sealed the victory.

It was UCA’s 11th consecutive win over UAPB, as they improved to 11-2 in the overall series.

“I was pleased with our team,’ said Brown. “Bottom line is, we came out hot. If you look at the possession time, I think we held the ball for 13 minutes in the first quarter, turned them over on special teams play and I think their one possession in the first quarter was a three and out. (So) we were up 21-0 before we blinked. And that’s what set the tone of the game. I was really pleased to see our team respond that way.”

The Bears, who lost a shootout at No. 24 Missouri State last Saturday, rolled up a season-high 456 yards of total offense and held the ball for nearly 38 minutes, including a whopping 13:24 in the first quarter.

UCA also converted 12 of 17 third-down situations and held UAPB starter Skyler Perry to just 1-of-10 passing on third down.

UCA senior placekicker Hayden Ray nailed a 32-yard field goal early in the third quarter to push UCA’s lead to 31-9 before UAPB mounted its comeback. The Golden Lions (1-1) turned the back-to-back interceptions into touchdowns, the second was a 49-yard pick-six by Andre Fuller that got UAPB within one score at 31-23 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

But UCA freshman running back Darius Hale added a pair of short touchdowns runs over the final 7:50 to seal the win. Hale, from Pearland, Texas, led the Bears with 76 yards on 19 carries, with fellow freshman Trysten Smith adding 59 yards on 15 attempts. Former UCA Bears Kierre Crossley, a graduate transfer at UAPB, led the Golden Lions with 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just seven carries.

“They (UAPB) showed a tremendous amount of fight to continue playing,’ said Brown. “And I didn’t think we handled the lightning delay and halftime very well at all. The third quarter showed it because they got after us. It was unfortunate how we played there but I thought we responded well in the fourth quarter. To win the fourth quarter, basically 14-0, was huge. We had our backs against the wall, it got to a one-possession game. And our guys responded, and that’s what you expect good teams to do. And I still think we have a good football team.”

Defensively, UCA was very good, holding UAPB to 308 total yards of offense, with quarterback Skyler Perry completing just 13 of 32 for 173 yards. UCA junior Deandre Lamont filled up his stat sheet with five tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and blocked point after. Senior linebacker Trenton Dunn led the Bears with a career-high 13 tackles and forced the fumble the Lamont recovered.

Richmond, Winningham, Hudson and Enlow all combined for 23 receptions for 275 yards.

UCA continues its homestand next Saturday, hosting defending FCS national champion Sam Houston.

The Bears and Sam Houston are familiar foes since the Southland Conference and have staged some classic battles since 2006.

CONWAY – An experienced bunch of University of Central Arkansas Bears will officially kick off fall practice Saturday morning, 28 days in front of their season opener at Arkansas State on Sept. 4 in Jonesboro.

The Bears, who return 20 starters, will be prepping for their first season as part of the ASUN-WAC Challenge after 15 successful seasons in the Southland Conference. UCA will play two ASUN members and four WAC members, all former members of the SLC. It starts with practice No. 1 on Saturday.

“From Day 1, I want to see a lot of retention, because we have a veteran team,’ said head coach Nathan Brown, entering his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. “When you return that many starters from a team that had so much success last fall, you should see retention, you should see guys playing fast, understanding what our schemes are. And really going out and not making many mistakes.

“Obviously we’ve got a good crop of freshman and transfers that are going to integrate into our system, but for the most part a lot of these guys are back for another year, so we’re excited about that. It should make for a quick install time so we can get into the real part of camp fairly quickly.’

The Bears had a league-best 13 players named to the preseason All-ASUN team, after having 11 student-athletes named to the Fall All-SLC team last fall, including Coach of the Year in Brown. Sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson was named the 2020 Fall SLC Offensive Player of the Year and the preseason ASUN Offensive Player of the Year for 2021.

“I think we’re going to have a lot of peer leadership, we’re going to have a peer-led team,’ said Brown. “I think we’ve got some really good teammates, just because they’ve been here. We have 10 or 11 of what we’re calling super seniors who are using their covid-waiver year for their fifth or sixth year.  So when you’ve got a veteran group like that, they should be leaders, they should be the face of your program.

“I also think, if you look up and down our roster, we have as much team speed as we’ve ever had. We’re just really fast. An emphasis has been put on that in recruiting and we have guys who can really run that have been here. But this freshman class and some of these transfers we brought in that will be competing for a spot can really run at the skill positions. That’s something that I’m really excited about.’

Brown said the emphasis early in camp will be on a couple of specific positions.

“We’ve got to develop a backup quarterback, figure out who’s going to win that job,’ he said. “We have three capable quarterbacks (third-year freshman Darius Bowers, second-year freshman Hunter Loyd, true freshman Tyler Gee) behind Breylin (Smith). That’s going to be a great competition and we have to figure out who’s going to be the guy.

“I think offensive line, we feel very comfortable about the first six or seven guys, but we need to continue to build depth there. We have some talented young guys and some guys we were able to redshirt and a couple of true freshmen with a lot of talent. We’ll see how we develop that depth on the offensive line.

“And on the defensive side, it’s really linebackers, there’s going to be a lot of competition in our linebacker room. We feel very solid about our top guys on the defensive line and in the secondary. But at linebacker, you have some key names that are really going to be competing there. Guys like Darin Davenport, Trenton Dunn, T.J. Campbell, Malik Wilson, Kendarrius Moore, a young freshman, Dwain Hunt, another freshman. There are guys that are going to be competing really hard in that room and that will be fun to watch.’

The Bears have several highly touted newcomers, including a quartet of transfers that will be battling for playing time from the start.

“It starts at corner with Willie Langham, a transfer from Tulane,’ said Brown. “He’s a really long corner who started 8-9 games for Tulane last year, so he’s got a ton of experience. Looks the part, can really run, excited to see how he integrates into our defense. 

“Kylan Stribling is a safety who is a graduate transfer from Middle Tennessee. He’s a guy who had a ton of production at an FBS program. And then Davon Wright, a defensive tackle from Tulane, will be competing for a lot of playing time on the defensive front.

 Those three added some maturity to our defense immediately and I’m excited about them.

“On offense, Jaden Salley, an offensive lineman from Arkansas-Monticello has a chance to come in and compete right away. He’s also a graduate transfer, an All-Conference player in the GAC (Great American Conference) who is using his last year of eligibility with us. And then Darius Hale, a true freshman who enrolled early in the spring, at running back. I think he’s as talented and skilled a running back as we’ve had. It will be fun to watch him compete with Cameron Myers and some of the guys we already have here for playing time in the running back room.’

UCA finished with a 5-4 record while playing a full fall schedule in 2020, while numerous schools competed in the spring of 2021 and will have a quick turnaround.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Saturday, Aug. 7 – practice 9-11 a.m. (helmets)

Sunday, Aug. 8 – practice 3:30-5:30 p.m. (helmets)

Monday, Aug. 9 – practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)

Tuesday, Aug. 10 – practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)

Wednesday, Aug. 11 – practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)

Thursday, Aug. 12 – Photo/Media Day (1:30 interviews)

Friday, Aug. 13 – practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)

Saturday, Aug. 14 – practice 9-11 a.m. (full)

Sunday, Aug. 15 – practice 3:30-5:30 (helmets)

Monday, Aug. 16 – practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)

Tuesday, Aug. 17 – practice 9-11 a.m. (shells)

Wednesday, Aug. 18 – Kickoff Scrimmage 6-7:30 p.m. (full)

Thursday, Aug. 19 – First day of classes